Almost every kitchen that goes wrong went wrong at the measuring stage, and it usually went wrong in one of three specific ways. This page is the sequence we would follow, in the order that stops the later steps from being wasted.
Work in inches, write everything down, and measure twice with the tape held level. A tape that sags across a ten-foot wall reads long, and long is the direction that hurts.
Draw the room as a rough plan - it does not need to be to scale, it needs to be complete. Then fill in these numbers.
| Wall runs | Corner to corner along every wall that will carry cabinets. Measure at the floor and again at counter height, roughly 36 inches. If the two differ by more than a quarter inch, the wall is not plumb and you will need scribe or filler at one end - better to know now. |
|---|---|
| Ceiling height | At both ends of each run, not just once. This decides whether wall cabinets stop short, run to the ceiling, or take a stacked or crown finish. |
| Windows and doors | Distance from the nearest corner to the edge of the trim, then the trim width, then the height from the floor to the sill. A sill an inch lower than assumed is what turns a planned wall cabinet into a gap. |
| Soffits and bulkheads | Depth and height of anything boxed in above the run. These are frequently not square and frequently hide ductwork. |
| Obstructions | Outlets, switches, vents, radiators, a gas line, the electrical panel. Mark all of them with a distance from the nearest corner. |
This is where most kitchens actually fail. Cabinet widths are fixed; an appliance either fits its opening or it does not, and the appliance never yields.
Do not measure the old appliance. Find the specification sheet for the appliance you intend to install and use its required cut-out, which is often not the same as the appliance's own dimensions. A "24-inch" dishwasher may require slightly more, a slide-in range needs its own clearance to combustibles, and a French-door refrigerator needs depth plus door swing plus a gap for air behind.
The three that cost the most. A dishwasher opening assumed at exactly 24 inches. A range hood specified after the wall cabinets rather than before, so the clearance above the range is wrong. A refrigerator planned without its door swing, so the door will not open past 90 degrees against the adjacent wall. All three are cheap to check now and expensive to fix on install day.
Measure the centre of the drain from the nearest corner, and its height from the floor. A sink base has to clear the trap, and moving a drain is a plumber's day rather than an adjustment. Note where the shut-offs are, and whether the disposal and the dishwasher drain share the same run.
Cabinets come in a fixed grid of widths. The job is to cover each wall run with a combination of that grid plus filler, rather than to find a cabinet that happens to be exactly your wall.
Start each run from the fixed points - the sink, the range, the corner - and work outward. Corners need a corner unit or a dead space with a filler; two cabinets cannot simply meet at a right angle without one of them losing its door swing. Leave the fillers for last, and expect one at the end of each run.
Across the catalog there are roughly 20,889 size variations over nine collections, which is what makes this practical - a line is every width, height and depth it is offered in, so the grid is finer than most people expect. Browse categories to compare door styles, then work through sizes in shop cabinets.
Before ordering, put the plan back into the room. Chalk or tape the cabinet runs onto the floor and the wall cabinet line onto the wall. Walk it. Open the imaginary dishwasher door while standing where you would stand. This ten-minute exercise catches the mistakes a drawing hides - a door that opens into a walkway, a corner drawer that cannot clear the range handle.
Send the measurements to [email protected] and we will work to them, designing to the model you want and providing 3D modelling of the result. If the installation is also being handled by Rest Cabinetry, our own team assembles the cabinets as part of that work.
Collect an order the same day at 6115 Jimmy Carter Blvd, Suite E in Norcross, Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 17:00, or take delivery across metro Atlanta in 7 to 10 business days. For the whole ordering process end to end, see Atlanta kitchen cabinets; for what pairs with the boxes, countertops.
The room, before anything else: every wall run corner to corner, ceiling height at both ends of each run, window and door positions with trim, soffits, and every outlet, switch and vent. Measure wall runs at the floor and again at about 36 inches - if they differ by more than a quarter inch the wall is not plumb, and you will need filler at one end.
Not from the old dishwasher. Use the specification sheet for the appliance you intend to install and take its required cut-out, which is often not the same as the appliance's own outside dimensions. A dishwasher opening assumed at exactly 24 inches is one of the three most common and most expensive measuring errors.
To the eighth of an inch on wall runs and appliance openings. Hold the tape level - a tape that sags across a ten-foot wall reads long, and long is the direction that causes trouble, because a cabinet run that will not fit cannot be shortened on site the way a filler can be trimmed.
Most are not, particularly in older houses. That is what fillers and scribe pieces exist for. Measuring at two heights tells you how much you are dealing with, and planning the run from the fixed points outward means the discrepancy lands in a filler at the end rather than in the middle of the run.
Before. Specifying a hood after the wall cabinets are planned is one of the three costliest mistakes, because the required clearance above the range dictates where the surrounding cabinets can sit. Range hoods are carried as their own line.
Corners need a corner unit or a deliberate dead space with a filler. Two cabinets cannot simply meet at a right angle - one of them loses its door swing. Plan corners early, because they set where every other cabinet in both runs begins.
Yes. Email your measurements and the collection you are considering to [email protected] and we will design to them, including 3D modelling of the result. If Rest Cabinetry is also handling the installation, our team assembles the cabinets as part of that work.
If you are taking delivery, roughly two weeks - the delivery window is 7 to 10 business days, counting business days only, so a Friday order is not a Monday delivery. If the schedule is tighter than that, orders can be collected the same day in Norcross.
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